Architect unveils catalyst project for east Main Street

The sleepier end of downtown Sarasota has attracted recent attention from developers, but a project by a local architecture company could be a catalyst for concrete revitalization.

The Schimberg Group has unveiled renderings for a new building at 2101 Main St., which is east of U.S. 301. The firm plans to occupy a portion of the new development, while leasing out ground floor space to a restaurant or café.

“Our intent is to start motivating people to begin looking at it as more of a community than just an area of town,” said architect Barron Schimberg, who with his wife Patty purchased the 12,750-square-foot property for $332,500 last year.

And Largo-based Icon Residential last week bought two acres one block east of that new development for $2.75 million, advancing plans for new townhomes. 

Icon is currently working through the city’s permitting process for the 37-unit, three-story development, which will sit next to the 10-story Kane Plaza.

In the two years after Bonita Springs-based investment fund TerraCap Partners II bought the Kane tower for $11.5 million, tenants in the building have poured more than $500,000 into improvements, according to city building records. 

“I think it’s a wonderful location and opportunity, and that people will start to see it evolve,” Schimberg said of the east end of Main Street.